Systems and methods for requesting electronic programming content through internet content or advertising

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are disclosed for enabling Internet users to schedule recordings of electronic programming content. One method includes displaying on a web page, over the Internet, a user interface element associated with an advertisement for electronic programming content; wherein selection of the user interface element, by a user of a web browsing device, initiates a recording device of the user, separate from the web browsing device, to schedule a recording of the electronic programming content. Another method for enabling Internet users to request television content includes displaying on a web page, over the Internet, a user interface element associated with an advertisement for television content; wherein a user&#39;s selection of the user interface element initiates a request for the advertised television content from a carrier that provides television service to the user.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally torequesting electronic programming content by interacting with Internetcontent or advertising. More specifically, exemplary embodiments of thepresent disclosure relate to systems and methods for enabling Internetusers to request electronic programming content, such as televisioncontent from a television carrier, by interacting with Internet contentand/or advertising.

BACKGROUND

Traditionally, television networks advertised new shows and movies innewspapers, magazines, billboards, and on their own networks. Forexample, if a network were launching a new television series, thenetwork might spend significant money on a cross-platform advertisingcampaign across traditional paper media, on their own network, andsometimes on other television networks that draw viewers of similardemographics, or of demographics likely interested in the new series.

In recent years, however, people have started spending more and moretime browsing content on the Internet, as opposed to traditionalsources. As a result, the value of advertising on web pages has risensignificantly, and techniques for targeting demographics of interesthave become very advanced. Now, even though television networks have alarge platform for advertising their own content, they are increasinglyadvertising their new television shows and movies on the Internet. It isnow common to see ads for new television shows and movies while browsingnews sites, blogs, and other content publishers.

Each time an Internet advertisement is shown to a website visitor isknown as an “impression.” When the user is shown the advertisement, theuser may select, or “click,” on the advertisement, or may take another“action,” such as completing an online form to request more information.If the user later purchases the product, the purchase is referred to asa “conversion” of the impression.

Advertisers may be interested in impressions (e.g., if they are tryingto increase awareness of a brand), clicks (e.g., if they are trying toprovide more information about a product), or conversions (e.g., if theyare trying to make sales or get new users to sign up for services).Advertisers may pay advertising networks and therefore publishers basedon, for example, impressions, clicks, or conversions over the course ofan advertising campaign. Typically, an advertiser may have a spendingplan that specifies how the advertiser wishes to spend its budget duringa campaign.

When online ads are advertising products or website, the advertisers maytrack and appreciate the value of those ads based on their payments fortheir desired clicks, conversions, etc. In other words, a website ownermay be pleased to pay for clickthroughs to their website if that istheir primary advertising objective. Likewise, a product vendor may bepleased to pay for conversions if sales are their primary advertisingobjective. However, when online ads are advertising television content,the advertisers (i.e., television networks, creators, distributors,etc.) may be unable to ascertain the full value of their advertisingexpenditures. For example, a user might view an advertisement for atelevision series, and even click through to view the network's websiteabout the television series. However, while the television network mayderive value from the user viewing the website, traditionally, thenetwork may never know if the user eventually viewed the series on theirnetwork (i.e., on television), which was likely their primaryadvertising objective.

Accordingly, a need exists for systems and methods for enabling requestsfor electronic programming content through Internet content oradvertising. More specifically, a need exists for systems and methodsfor enabling Internet users to request electronic programming content,such as television content from a television carrier, by interactingwith Internet content and/or advertising.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to certain embodiments, methods are disclosed for enablingInternet users to schedule recordings of electronic programming content.One method includes displaying on a web page, over the Internet, a userinterface element associated with an advertisement for electronicprogramming content; wherein selection of the user interface element, bya user of a web browsing device, initiates a recording device of theuser, separate from the web browsing device, to schedule a recording ofthe electronic programming content.

According to certain embodiments, methods are disclosed for enablingInternet users to request television content. One method includesdisplaying on a web page, over the Internet, a user interface elementassociated with an advertisement for television content; wherein auser's selection of the user interface element initiates a request forthe advertised television content from a carrier that providestelevision service to the user.

According to certain embodiments, methods are disclosed for enabling anInternet user to schedule recording of electronic programming contentfrom a content provider that provides an electronic programming contentservice to the user. One method includes displaying on a web page, overthe Internet, a user interface element associated with an advertisementfor electronic programming content; receiving an indication that theuser has selected the user interface element; and responsive to theselection, scheduling recording of the advertised electronic programmingcontent on a recording device or set top box associated with the user.

According to certain embodiments, methods are disclosed for method forenabling Internet users to request television content. One methodincludes displaying on a web page, over the Internet, a user interfaceelement associated with an advertisement for television content; whereinselection of the user interface element, by a viewer of the web page,initiates a recording device of the user to schedule a recording of theelectronic programming content.

Additional objects and advantages of the disclosed embodiments will beset forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will beapparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of thedisclosed embodiments. The objects and advantages of the disclosedembodiments will be realized and attained by means of the elements andcombinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the disclosed embodiments, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification, illustrate various exemplary embodiments andtogether with the description, serve to explain the principles of thedisclosed embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an environment in which users mayrequest television content through Internet content and advertising,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of information flow between entities forenabling requests for television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram of a method for enabling requests fortelevision content through Internet content and advertising, accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram of a method for requesting television contentthrough Internet content and advertising, according to an exemplaryembodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Reference will now be made in detail to the exemplary embodiments of thedisclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be usedthroughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

The present disclosure describes systems and methods for enabling usersto request television content associated with their television carrier(e.g., satellite, fiber optic, or cable television provider) byinteracting with Internet content and/or advertising over a computer ormobile device. For example, a user may be subscribed to televisioncontent through a satellite, cable, or fiber optic television carrier.The satellite, cable, or fiber optic television carrier may provide theuser with a “set-top box” which is a device that is typically connectedbetween the user's television and a satellite, cable, or fiber optictelevision source. The set-top box may include a digital video recorder(“DVR”), which includes a hard drive onto which the user may recordtelevision content. In one embodiment, the video recording may beprovided by a cloud-based or virtual DVR that is hosted by a televisionprovider as an alternative to a physical set-top box. The set-top boxmay also enable a user to select, purchase, and/or view on-demandcontent, pay-per-view content, or any other content, either at no costor for a fee. The set-top box might also enable a user to add televisioncontent to a queue, playlist, or “favorites” list. In some cases, a usermay be able to log-in to an account associated with their televisioncarrier, such as through a computer or mobile device, using log-incredentials, such as a username and password, stored by the televisioncarrier. Thus, the user may be able to record content to their DVR,select or purchase on-demand or pay-per-view content, or add content toa queue or favorites list, by interacting with the television carrier'swebsite or with a mobile app distributed by the television carrier.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, a user may also be ableto record content to their DVR, select or purchase on-demand orpay-per-view content, or add content to a queue or favorites list, byinteracting with Internet content and/or Internet advertising viewed ona computer or mobile device. In other words, a user may be able torequest content to a set-top box provided by their television carrier byinteracting with Internet content or advertising promoted by a publisheror advertiser, such as a television network, or producer or creator oftelevision content. In one embodiment, a user may be able to perform oneor more additional actions, such as following the advertised contentthrough a social media service.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an environment in which users mayrequest television content through Internet content and advertising,according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.Specifically, FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary environment including aplurality of user devices 102, carrier servers 104, ad servers 106,advertiser servers 108, and publisher servers 110, all disposed incommunication with the Internet.

In one embodiment, user devices 102 may be owned and used by one or morepeople, who may be viewers of web pages over the Internet, eitherthrough a mobile browser or web browser stored on respective userdevices. User devices 102 may include any type of electronic deviceconfigured to send and receive data, such as websites and electronicadvertisements, over the Internet. For example, each of user devices 102may include a server, personal computer, tablet computer, mobile device,smartphone, and/or personal digital assistant (“PDA”) disposed incommunication with the Internet. Each of user devices 102 may have a webbrowser or mobile browser installed for receiving and displaying weband/or ad content from web servers. Thus, each of user devices 102 maybe configured to receive and display data that is received from one ormore of ad servers 106, advertiser servers 108, and publisher servers110, among any other web servers, domain name system (“DNS”) servers,content distribution network (“CDN”) servers, etc., over the Internet.

Carrier servers 104 may be servers associated with television carriers,or television service providers. For example, carrier servers 104 may beoperated by any entities involved in distributing satellite, cable, orfiber optic service to people. In one embodiment, carrier servers 104may be configured to store user profiles associated with individualsoperating user devices 102, such as log-in credentials, televisionpreferences, billing information, set-top box IDs or serial numbers, orany other information involved in a user's account for receivingtelevision service. As will be discussed in more detail below, carrierservers 104 may operate one or more application programming interfaces(“APIs”) enabling ad servers 106 to interact with the carrier servers104 for requesting television content.

Ad servers 106 may include any type of servers configured to processadvertising information from advertisers and/or site information frompublishers, and send and receive ad requests and information from userdevices 102, either directly or indirectly. In one embodiment, adservers 106 may be owned and operated by an ad network, which may be abusiness that receives ad buys from advertisers, and serves ads oninventory supplied by publishers. Thus, an ad network operating adservers 106 may receive revenue from advertisers, purchase impressionsfrom publishers, and serve ads on publishers' web pages when viewersassociated with user devices 102 view those web pages. According toaspects of the present disclosure, ad servers 106 may be configured tointeract with carrier servers 104, such as one or more APIs associatedwith carrier servers 104, to request television content in response tointeraction from user devices 102.

Advertiser servers 108 may be owned and/or operated by any entitieshaving content, such as online advertisements (e.g., display ads, bannerads, pop-ups, etc.) desired to be delivered to online users. Suchadvertisers may interact with user devices 102, publisher servers 110,and/or ad servers 106, through advertiser servers 108 connected to theInternet. Thus, advertisers may be able to communicate advertisinginformation, such as ad information, targeting information, consumerinformation, budget information, bidding information, etc., to otherentities in the environment of FIG. 1. In one embodiment, advertisersmay include any promoter of television content, such as a televisionnetwork, studio, ad agency, etc.

Publisher web servers 110 may be owned and/or operated by any entitieshaving inventories of available online advertising space. For example,publishers may include online content providers, search engines, e-mailprograms, or any other online site or program having online usertraffic. Publishers may interact with user devices 102, advertiserservers 108, and ad servers 106, through publisher servers 110 connectedto the Internet. Thus, publishers may be able to communicate inventoryinformation, such as site information, demographic information, costinformation, etc., to other entities in the environment of FIG. 1.

In certain embodiments, ad servers 106 may be remote web servers thatreceive advertising information from advertisers and serve ads to beplaced by publishers. Ad servers 106 may be configured to serve adsacross various domains of publishers, for example, based on advertisinginformation provided by advertisers. Ad servers 106 may also beconfigured to serve ads based on contextual targeting of web sites,search results, and/or user profile information. In some embodiments, adservers 106 may be configured to serve ads based on ad tags served byadvertiser servers 108 and/or publisher servers 110, and on ad requestsreceived from user devices 102. Ad servers 106 may be configured to sendand receive data from user devices 102, advertiser servers 108,publisher servers 110, and/or carrier servers 104, over the Internet.

Ad servers 106 may include any type or combination of computing systems,such as clustered computing machines and/or servers. In one embodiment,each of ad servers 106 may be an assembly of hardware, including amemory, a central processing unit (“CPU”), and/or a user interface. Thememory may include any type of RAM or ROM embodied in a physical storagemedium, such as magnetic storage including floppy disk, hard disk, ormagnetic tape; semiconductor storage such as solid state disk (SSD) orflash memory; optical disc storage; or magneto-optical disc storage. TheCPU may include one or more processors for processing data according toinstructions stored in the memory. The functions of the processor may beprovided by a single dedicated processor or by a plurality ofprocessors. Moreover, the processor may include, without limitation,digital signal processor (DSP) hardware, or any other hardware capableof executing software. The user interface may include any type orcombination of input/output devices, such as a display monitor,touchpad, touchscreen, microphone, camera, keyboard, and/or mouse.

Regardless of specific physical components or layout, one or more of adservers 106, or any other servers or systems associated with ad networkinvolving ad servers 106, may be programmed with instructions to performa method of enabling Internet users to request television content, suchas from carrier servers 104, according to the exemplary disclosedmethods, such as the exemplary methods described with respect to FIGS.2-7 below.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the flow of information betweenentities for enabling requests for television content through Internetcontent and advertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of thepresent disclosure. As shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of entities mayexchange information to enable users to request television contentthrough Internet content and/or advertisements. Specifically, accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure, publishers 110, advertisers108, users 102, Internet service providers 112, and television carriers104 (all through one or more computers and/or servers connected to theInternet, as described with respect to FIG. 1) may exchange data with anInternet advertising system 150, including one or more ad servers 106.

In general, publishers 110 may host websites having web pages thatdisplay content and advertising. In general, when a user 102 visits aweb page of a publisher 110, the publisher may send an impressionrequest 202 to an ad network, in this case, the Internet advertisingsystem 150. In the impression request 202, the publisher 110 may requestan advertisement to display to the visiting user. The impression requestmay include any data elements normally included in an impressionrequest, such as information about the web page, the publisher, and/orthe visiting user. The Internet advertising system 150 may select anadvertisement for the publisher to display based on an algorithm thatconsiders the received information about the web page, the publisher,and/or the visiting user.

As described above, in some cases, one or more of the advertisers, e.g.,of advertiser servers 108, may be a company that markets websites, sellsproducts, or sells services. In some cases, however, an advertiser maybe a television network that may desire to advertise television content.Of course, the advertiser might also be an affiliate or agent of thetelevision network, such as online media buyer, a marketing agency, orany other promoter of television content. Thus, as opposed to providingthe Internet advertising system 150 with ads depicting products, theadvertisers might provide the Internet advertising system 150 with adsor images 204 of television content the advertiser wishes to promote.For example, an advertiser that promotes television content (such as atelevision network) might provide images associated with a televisionseries, a news program, a special event, a pay-per-view event, a movie,a mini-series, or any other television content the advertiser desires topromote.

Thus, the Internet advertising system 150 may, consistent with its adbidding and exchange techniques and various business rules, awardimpressions of the advertisers' television-related ads 204 to impressionrequests 202 from publisher 110. In other words, the Internetadvertising system 150, through ad servers 106, may causetelevision-related ads 204 received from advertisers to be displayed onweb pages of publishers 110 when users 102 visit those web pages. Ofcourse, as discussed above, the display of the television-related adsmay be precisely targeted both to the identities of the user 102 andpublisher 110, and the content of the publisher's web page. For example,the Internet advertising system 150 may select for display thetelevision-related ad that is most likely to generate a strong andfavorable reaction from the visiting user 102, based on assumptions,historical data, and statistics gathered about the publisher's site andthe user.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, in addition to providingpublishers with the television-related ads 204, Internet advertisingsystem 150 also may provide publishers with a user interface (“UI”) torequest content 206. For example, Internet advertising system 150 maysend with, embed into, or incorporate into each television-related ad204, a UI 206 by which a viewer of the ad can request the televisioncontent promoted in the ad.

Thus, according to aspects of the present disclosure, users 102 may beshown both television-related advertisements and UIs by which the usermay request the content promoted in the television-relatedadvertisements. For example, the user may be enabled to interact withthe displayed UI to initiate (i) purchasing the television content froma television carrier, (ii) recording the television content to theuser's digital video recorder (DVR) associated with the televisioncarrier, or (iii) adding the television content to the user's queue orfavorites list associated with the television carrier.

In one embodiment, users 102 may provide Internet advertising system 150with log-in information for one or more carrier networks (such as a DVRusername/password) and an indication of content requested to bepurchased or recorded. In one embodiment, Internet advertising system150 may alternatively receive IP address information and/or carrierlog-in credentials of users 102 from the users' respective Internetservice provider (ISPs) 112. For example, in the event that a user 102obtains both Internet service and television service from a single ISP112, then the ISP may have access to, and may have linked in a database,the user's television carrier log-in information as well as the user'sIP address. As a result, a user may be spared the step of providingcarrier log-in information if Internet advertising system 150 obtainslog-in information matching the user's IP address from the user's ISP.

In one embodiment, Internet advertising system 150 may communicate witha user's television carrier 104 using user log-in credentials obtainedeither from the user 102 or from the user's ISP 112 (i.e., if affiliatedwith the television carrier 104). For example, if a user 102 visits aweb page of publisher 110 and views an advertisement 204 for atelevision program promoted by one of advertisers (i.e., the creator orpromoter of the program), the user may also be shown, with or in theadvertisement 204, a UI 206 to request the program, such as bypurchasing the program from the user's television carrier, adding theprogram to the user's television carrier DVR, or adding the program tothe user's television carrier queue or favorites list. When the user 102requests to purchase, record, or queue the television program, the usermay either provide log-in information for the user's television carrier,or allow the user's affiliated ISP to use IP address information toprovide the user's carrier log-in information to the Internetadvertising system 150.

Having received the user's television carrier credentials, either fromthe user or the users carrier-affiliated ISP, the Internet advertisingsystem 150 may interface with the user's television carrier 104 toexecute the user's request. For example, if the user requested topurchase the advertised television program, then Internet advertisingsystem 150 may interface with, e.g., an on-demand applicationprogramming interface (“API”) 212 of the carrier 104 to initiatepurchase or selection of the program on the user's carrier set-top box(including DVR). If the user requested to record the advertisedtelevision program, then Internet advertising system 150 may interfacewith a DVR API 214 of the carrier 104 to initiate recording of theprogram on the user's DVR. If the user requested to queue or “favorite”the advertised television program, then Internet advertising system 150may interface with a queue API 210 of the carrier 104 to initiate addingthe program to a queue or favorites list on the user's set-top-box, DVR,or carrier account. In one embodiment, the Internet advertising system150 may implement a persistent means for storing users' log-ininformation to avoid users from having to repeatedly re-enter theirlog-in information. For example, the Internet advertising system 150 mayimplement a cookie that is shared across advertisement/recording contentinterfaces. Alternatively or additionally, the Internet advertisingsystem 150 may link a user's account to a common third account that ispersistently logged-in, such as a social media network.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram of a method 300 for enabling requests fortelevision content through Internet content and advertising, accordingto an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, asshown in FIG. 3A, method 300 may include receiving, from an advertiser,an image or advertisement associated with television content (step 302).For example, as described above, an advertiser, which may include atelevision network or an affiliated ad agency or promoter, may desire toadvertise television content, such as a new television series, a movie,a pay-per-view event, etc. For example, the television network oraffiliated ad agency or promoter may generate an image, video, or otheradvertisement (sometimes referred to as a “creative”) that promotes thetelevision content and that is designed to be displayed on a web page.Thus, in one embodiment, the image or advertisement may be referred toas a “television-related ad” in that it promotes content that will beappearing on live television, or that is available as on-demandtelevision content. The television network or affiliated ad agency orpromoter may send the television-related image or advertisement, forexample, to an Internet advertising system 150 to be served by adservers 106 on web sites of publisher 110.

Thus, method 300 may also include displaying on a web page (e.g., a webpage of a publisher 110), the image or advertisement associated with thetelevision content (step 304). For example, ad servers 106 may determinewhich impressions to serve with the television-related ad based on onemore factors, such as the content of the publisher's web page, theidentity and browsing history of the visiting user 102 viewing theadvertisement, etc., consistent with known ad targeting techniques.Specifically, ad servers 106 may serve television-related ads accordingto techniques known to maximize user interest in the ads, and thereforevalue associated with displaying the ads on the particular site at theparticular time.

According to aspects of the present disclosure, method 300 may alsoinclude displaying a user element for a user or viewer of theadvertisement to request the content, i.e., the television contentpromoted in the advertisement (step 306). For example, in oneembodiment, method 300 may include modifying the advertisement toinclude a user element enabling a user or viewer of the advertisement torequest content promoted in the advertisement. In one embodiment, the adnetwork 150 may modify an advertisement, or creative, to include, forexample, a link or a button that, when clicked, enables a user torequest the content advertised in the ad, as will be described in moredetail below with respect to the screenshots of FIGS. 4-7.

Method 300 may also include receiving, from the user that is shown theadvertisement, an indication of the user's desire to receive the content(step 308). For example, the user may interact with the displayed userelement, such as the link or button displayed on the advertisement, inorder to request the content advertised in the ad.

Method 300 may also include receiving or identifying a televisioncarrier profile associated with the user (step 310). For example, oncethe user has expressed a desire to receive the television contentadvertised in the displayed advertisement, it may be desirable todetermine the identity of the television carrier from whom the userreceives television content, e.g., through a set-top box and satellite,cable, or fiber optic connection. In one embodiment, the Internetadvertising system 150 may manipulate the user element, such as bydisplaying a pop-up or set of forms, to request the user to indicate hisor her television carrier.

In addition, the Internet advertising system 150 may request the user toprovide log-in credentials for the user's account with his or hertelevision carrier (step 312). For example, the user may be prompted toenter the credentials that the user uses to interact with the user'sset-top box through the television carrier's website and/or mobileapplication. In one embodiment, if the user receives television contentfrom the same company, or an affiliate of the company, that provides theuser's Internet service, then the Internet advertising system 150 mayreceive the user's television carrier credentials from the user's ISP,or look-up the user's television carrier credentials in a databaseprovided by the user's ISP. Of course, the Internet advertising system150 may limit its access to users' carrier credentials based onpermissions received from users, and/or its access to users' credentialsmay be controlled through digital certificates, cryptographic keys, orother encryption techniques.

Method 300 may then include transmitting to the user's televisioncarrier the user's carrier credentials and an ID associated with theuser's desired content (step 314). For example, in one embodiment,Internet advertising system 150 may, based on interaction of the userwith the television-related ad, inform the user's television carrierthat the user (identified by the user's carrier credentials) desires toreceive the content displayed in the advertisement (identified, e.g., bya title, ID number, etc.) For example, the Internet advertising system150 may transmit to the user's television carrier that the user desiresto: add the identified content to the user's set-top box DVR, select orpurchase the identified content through the user's set-top box DVR, oradd the identified content to a queue or favorites list associated withthe user's set-top box DVR. In one embodiment, the Internet advertisingsystem 150 may transmit to the user's television carrier that the userdesires to add the identified content to a virtual DVR, an online queue,or any other online or cloud-based television platform. In oneembodiment, an advertisement for a television program may be matched toor corresponded with a program in a television carrier's electronicprogramming guide by one of several ways, such as a table or databaseprovided by the advertisers specifying the time slot and channel foreach carrier, or a search against the television provider database for aprogram's name, and scheduling based on a highest confidence searchresult.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram of a method 350 for requesting televisioncontent through Internet content and advertising, according to anexemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, FIG. 3Bdepicts, from a user's perspective, a method 350 for viewing atelevision-related advertisement and interacting with thetelevision-related advertisement to request that the content be storedor displayed at the user's television or set-top box. As shown in FIG.3B, method 350 may include a user arriving at a web site (step 352). Theuser may view a television-related advertisement, such as a rich mediaad (step 354). In one embodiment, the television-related ad may includea user element for requesting the advertised television content. Forexample, the television-related ad may include a button or link enablingthe user to express a desire to “buy” or “record” the advertisedtelevision content (step 356). If the user clicks the user element, suchas the “buy” or “record” button in the advertisement, then the user maybe presented with an expanded ad interface (step 358). For example, theuser's click on the advertisement user element may cause the displayedad to expand in size, optionally cover a larger portion of the web page,and/or pop-up into a new window.

Upon viewing the expanded ad interface, the user may either leave theexpanded interface (step 360), such as by closing or clicking away fromthe expanded interface; watching a video in the expanded ad interface(step 362), such as a video previewing or promoting the advertisedtelevision content; clicking through to a landing page (step 364), suchas to a web page maintained by the advertiser to promote the advertisedtelevision content; or sharing the content on a social media network(step 366), such as by posting a link to the advertised televisioncontent to the user's social networking profile.

Remaining on the expanded ad interface, the user may be prompted toselect a carrier (step 368), such as the user's television carrier(i.e., satellite, cable, or fiber optic provider). If the user backs outof the expanded ad interface, for example, if the user does not see hisor her television carrier (step 370), then, again, the user mayoptionally: leave the expanded ad interface (step 360), watch expandedvideo (step 362), click through to a landing page (step 364), and/orshare the content on social media (step 366).

If the user selects his or her television carrier (e.g., “Verizon,”“DirecTV,” “Comcast,” etc.), then the user may be prompted to enter theuser's carrier credentials (step 372). For example, the user may beprompted to enter the credentials that the user uses to log-in to anonline account associated with the user's account with the televisioncarrier. If the user provides accurate carrier credentials (i.e., theInternet advertising system 150 can successfully interface with, e.g.,the carrier's DVR API 214, on-demand API 212, and/or queue API 210),then the user may be prompted to confirm the user's desire to receivethe advertised television content, such as by recording to the user'sDVR, selecting/purchasing the on-demand content, or adding the contentto a queue (step 374).

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 4 depicts a web page 402, such a web pagehosted and maintained by a publisher 110. In addition to any publishingcontent consistent the publisher's publishing interests, the web page402 may include, for example, a banner ad 412 and/or a display ad 404.As shown in FIG. 4, the banner ad 412 and/or display ad 404 may includean image and/or video that advertises television content, in this case,a presidential debate on a television news network. As shown in FIG. 4,the advertised television content may be related in subject matter,field of interest, etc. to the content displayed by the publisher on theweb page (in this case, both politics-related). Moreover, as shown inFIG. 4, according to aspects of the present disclosure, the banner ad412 may include a user element 414 that a user may mouse-over or clickto request to log-in to the user's television carrier to record orselect the advertised television content. In addition, or alternatively,the display ad 404 may include an expanded ad interface 406, which mayinclude a user interface 408 by which a user may select the user'stelevision carrier from a dropdown menu and enter the user's carriercredentials for logging-in to the user's account with the selectedtelevision carrier. In one embodiment, the expanded ad interface 406 mayhave been expanded upon the user mousing-over display ad 404, orclicking user element 414. It should be appreciated that, while FIG. 4depicts a banner ad 414 and a display ad 404, the depicted embodimentsare merely exemplary in nature. Any other desired type or configurationof web or mobile advertisements may be displayed in combination with oneor more of the user elements 414 and expanded ad interface 406, forenabling users to request television content.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 5 depicts a web page 502 including abanner ad 508 and a display ad 504, both advertising a specialtelevision program, in this case, a mini-series that can be purchasedon-demand. As shown in FIG. 5, banner ad 508 may include a user element510 prompting a user to “BUY NOW” (i.e., to initiate purchasing theadvertised content through the user's DVR) and display ad 504 mayinclude a user element 506 prompting a user to “BUY NOW” (i.e., again,to initiate purchasing the advertised content through the user's DVR).Again, it should be appreciated that the depicted configuration ofadvertisements is only exemplary. In one embodiment, display ad 504 mayadvertise a first on-demand television program, while banner ad 508 mayadvertise a second on-demand television program. Alternatively oradditionally, if display ad 504 is an ad for a broadcast program andbanner ad 508 is an ad for an on-demand program, then user element 506may prompt the user to record the broadcast program, and user element510 may prompt the user to purchase or select the on-demand program, orvice versa.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 6 depicts a web page 602 including abanner ad 608 and a display ad 604, both advertising television content,in this case, a presidential debate on a television news network. Asshown in FIG. 6, banner ad 608 may include a user element 610 promptinga user to “ADD TO MY DVR” (i.e., to initiate recording the advertisedcontent to the user's DVR) and display ad 604 may include a user element606 prompting a user to “ADD TO MY DVR” (i.e., to initiate recording theadvertised content to the user's DVR). In this case, the user may havealready logged-in to a carrier account, so the user elements may allowaction with respect to the advertised content, without requiring furtherlog-in information. Again, it should be appreciated that the depictedconfiguration of advertisements is only exemplary. In one embodiment,display ad 604 may advertise a first television program, while banner ad608 may advertise a second television program. Alternatively oradditionally, display ad 604 may prompt a user to record content, whilebanner ad 608 may prompt a user to purchase content, or vice versa.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of another exemplary web page and userinterface for requesting television content through Internet content andadvertising, according to an exemplary embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Specifically, FIG. 7 depicts web page 702 including a bannerad 708 and a display ad 704, both advertising television content, inthis case, a movie that can be viewed through a streaming movie service.As shown in FIG. 7, banner ad 708 may include a user element 710prompting a user to “ADD TO MY QUEUE” (i.e., to initiate adding theadvertised content to the user's favorites list or queue of content towatch) and display ad 704 may include a user element 706 prompting auser to “ADD TO MY QUEUE” (i.e., to initiate adding the advertisedcontent to the user's favorites list or queue of content to watch).Again, it should be appreciated that the depicted configuration ofadvertisements is only exemplary. In one embodiment, display ad 704 mayadvertise a first television program, movie, live event, or on-demandprogram, while banner ad 708 may advertise a second television program,movie, live event, or on-demand program. Alternatively or additionally,display ad 704 may prompt a user to add content to a playlist or queue,while banner ad 708 may prompt a user to purchase content, or viceversa.

In one embodiment, advertisers may now pay for advertising based onwhether users interact with an expanded ad interface, whether usersclick to buy the television content, whether users click to record thetelevision content (e.g., add to DVR), and/or whether the users click toadd the television content to a playlist or queue. Thus, the presentlydisclosed systems and methods may establish a new standard for offeringadvertising spaces and functionality, and for bidding on and requestingbidding on television-related content. For example, advertisers may nowpay-per-record, pay-per-queue, pay-per-buy, in relation to televisioncontent, whereas advertisers previously only paid for impressions(pay-per-impression) and clicks (pay-per-click). Moreover, advertisers,and in some cases the advertising system, may derive value throughrevenue earned from users following through to schedule, record, or viewthe advertised data. For example, in one embodiment, advertisers andtelevision carriers may exchange viewing data obtained at the DVR level.

Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled inthe art from consideration of the specification and practice of theinvention disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification andexamples be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spiritof the invention being indicated by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for enabling Internet users to viewelectronic programming content, the method including: receiving, overthe Internet at a server, a plurality of advertisements for advertisingelectronic programming content; receiving, over the Internet at theserver, a request for an advertisement for display on a web page;receiving, at the server, an identifier associated with the web page;determining content associated with the web page based upon theidentifier associated with the web page; receiving, at the server, anidentifier associated with a web page publisher that publishes the webpage; determining web page publisher historical data based upon theidentifier associated with the web page publisher; receiving, at theserver, an identifier for a user; determining user historical data,associated with the user, based upon the identifier associated with theuser; determining, by the server, a selection of an advertisement fromamong the plurality of advertisements for electronic programming contentfor display on the web page, based on the content associated with theweb page, based on the web page publisher historical data associatedwith the web page publisher, and based on the user historical dataassociated with the user; embedding the selected advertisement into aplural media advertisement widget, the plural media advertisement widgetcomprising a user interface element comprising a plurality of widgetoptions, the widget options enabling (i) the initiation of purchasing ofthe electronic programming content from an electronic programmingcarrier, (ii) the initiation of recording the electronic programmingcontent to a digital video recorder of a user associated with theelectronic programming carrier, (iii) the initiation of adding theelectronic programming content to a list of the user associated with theelectronic programming carrier, and (iv) the initiation of adding theelectronic programming content to a list of the user associated with amedia streaming service; determining a widget option, of the widgetoptions of the plural media advertisement widget, to display to the userbased upon the content associated with the web page, the web pagepublisher historical data associated with the web page publisher, andthe user historical data associated with the user; transmitting, fromthe server, the determined widget option and the plural mediaadvertisement widget for advertising electronic programming content fordisplay on the web page; receiving, over the Internet at the server, aselection of the plural media advertisement widget, by the user using aweb browsing device; transmitting, from the server after receiving theselection of the plural media advertisement widget, an expanded pluralmedia advertisement widget interface including a carrier interfaceelement; receiving, over the Internet at the server, a selection of acarrier of the carrier interface element of the plural mediaadvertisement widget, by the user of the web browsing device;determining, upon the selection of the carrier, whether an Internetservice provider of the web browsing device and the selected carrier area common, single company; upon determining that the selected carrier andthe Internet service provider of the web browsing device are a common,single company, automatically receiving user credentials for theselected carrier from the Internet service provider of the web browsingdevice; initiating, by the server based on the selection of the widgetoptions of the plural media advertisement widget, at least one of: (i)purchasing of the electronic programming content from the electronicprogramming carrier, (ii) recording the electronic programming contentto the digital video recorder of the user associated with the electronicprogramming carrier, (iii) adding the electronic programming content tothe list of the user associated with the electronic programming carrier,and (iv) adding the electronic programming content to a list of the userassociated with a media streaming service; and initiating a charge tothe electronic programming carrier associated with the advertisement,based on the selection of the widget options of the plural mediaadvertisement widget, the charge corresponding to (i) pay-per-purchase,(ii) pay-per-record, or (iii) pay-per-queue.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the electronic programming content is television content.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the television content is at least one of abroadcast television program, an on-demand television program, a show, aseries, and a movie that can be streamed to a television of the user. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the digital video recorder is associatedwith the user's account with the electronic programming carrier of theelectronic programming content.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein theelectronic programming carrier is at least one of a satellite televisionservice, a cable television service, and a fiber optic televisionservice.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plural mediaadvertisement widget comprises at least one of a hyperlink and a buttonembedded in the advertisement.
 7. A system for enabling Internet usersto view electronic programming content, the system including: a memorydevice storing instructions for enabling Internet users to schedulerecordings of electronic programming content; and a processor configuredto execute the instructions to perform a method of: receiving, over theInternet at a server, a plurality of advertisements for advertisingelectronic programming content; receiving, over the Internet at theserver, a request for an advertisement for display on a web page;receiving, at the server, an identifier associated with the web page;determining content associated with the web page based upon theidentifier associated with the web page; receiving, at the server, anidentifier associated with a web page publisher that publishes the webpage; determining web page publisher historical data based upon theidentifier associated with the web page publisher; receiving, at theserver, an identifier for a user; determining user historical data,associated with the user, based upon the identifier associated with theuser; determining, by the server, a selection of an advertisement fromamong the plurality of advertisements for electronic programming contentfor display on the web page, based on the content associated with theweb page, based on the web page publisher historical data associatedwith the web page publisher, and based on the user historical dataassociated with the user; embedding the selected advertisement into aplural media advertisement widget, the plural media advertisement widgetcomprising a user interface element comprising a plurality of widgetoptions, the widget options enabling (i) the initiation of purchasing ofthe electronic programming content from an electronic programmingcarrier, (ii) the initiation of recording the electronic programmingcontent to a digital video recorder of a user associated with theelectronic programming carrier, (iii) the initiation of adding theelectronic programming content to a list of the user associated with theelectronic programming carrier, and (iv) the initiation of adding theelectronic programming content to a list of the user associated with amedia streaming service; determining a widget option, of the widgetoptions of the plural media advertisement widget, to display to the userbased upon the content associated with the web page, the web pagepublisher historical data associated with the web page publisher, andthe user historical data associated with the user; transmitting, fromthe server, the determined widget option and the plural mediaadvertisement widget for advertising electronic programming content fordisplay on the web page; receiving, over the Internet at the server, aselection of the plural media advertisement widget, by the user using aweb browsing device; transmitting, from the server after receiving theselection of the plural media advertisement widget, an expanded pluralmedia advertisement widget interface including a carrier interfaceelement; receiving, over the Internet at the server, a selection of acarrier of the carrier interface element of the plural mediaadvertisement widget, by the user of the web browsing device;determining, upon the selection of the carrier, whether an Internetservice provider of the web browsing device and the selected carrier area common, single company; upon determining that the selected carrier andthe Internet service provider of the web browsing device are a common,single company, automatically receiving user credentials for theselected carrier from the Internet service provider of the web browsingdevice; initiating, by the server based on the selection of the widgetoptions of the plural media advertisement widget, at least one of: (i)purchasing of the electronic programming content from the electronicprogramming carrier, (ii) recording the electronic programming contentto the digital video recorder of the user associated with the electronicprogramming carrier, (iii) adding the electronic programming content tothe list of the user associated with the electronic programming carrier,and (iv) adding the electronic programming content to a list of the userassociated with a media streaming service; and initiating a charge tothe electronic programming carrier associated with the advertisement,based on the selection of the widget options of the plural mediaadvertisement widget, the charge corresponding to (i) pay-per-purchase,(ii) pay-per-record, or (iii) pay-per-queue.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the electronic programming content is at least one of abroadcast television program, an on-demand television program, a show, aseries, and a movie that can be streamed to a television of the user. 9.The system of claim 7, wherein the selection of the plural mediaadvertisement widget initiates an electronic programming device of theuser, separate from the web browsing device used by the user to view theweb page.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein the electronic programmingdevice is associated with the user's account with the electronicprogramming carrier.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the electronicprogramming carrier is at least one of a satellite television service, acable television service, and a fiber optic television service.
 12. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of widgetoptions is a hyperlink.
 13. The system of claim 7, wherein at least oneof the plurality of widget options is a button embedded in theadvertisement.
 14. A non-transitory computer-readable medium forenabling Internet users to view electronic programming content thatstores instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause thecomputer to perform functions to: receive, over the Internet at aserver, a plurality of advertisements for advertising electronicprogramming content; receive, over the Internet at the server, a requestfor an advertisement for display on a web page; receive, at the server,an identifier associated with the web page; determine content associatedwith the web page based upon the identifier associated with the webpage; receive, at the server, an identifier associated with a web pagepublisher that publishes the web page; determine web page publisherhistorical data based upon the identifier associated with the web pagepublisher; receive, at the server, an identifier for a user; determineuser historical data, associated with the user, based upon theidentifier associated with the user; determine, by the server, aselection of an advertisement from among the plurality of advertisementsfor electronic programming content for display on the web page, based onthe content associated with the web page, based on the web pagepublisher historical data associated with the web page publisher, andbased on the user historical data associated with the user; embed theselected advertisement into a plural media advertisement widget, theplural media advertisement widget comprising a user interface elementcomprising a plurality of widget options, the widget options enabling(i) the initiation of purchasing of the electronic programming contentfrom an electronic programming carrier, (ii) the initiation of recordingthe electronic programming content to a digital video recorder of a userassociated with the electronic programming carrier, (iii) the initiationof adding the electronic programming content to a list of the userassociated with the electronic programming carrier, and (iv) theinitiation of adding the electronic programming content to a list of theuser associated with a media streaming service; determine a widgetoption, of the widget options of the plural media advertisement widget,to display to the user based upon the content associated with the webpage, the web page publisher historical data associated with the webpage publisher, and the user historical data associated with the user;transmit, from the server, the determined widget option and the pluralmedia advertisement widget for advertising electronic programmingcontent for display on the web page; receive, over the Internet at theserver, a selection of the plural media advertisement widget, by theuser using a web browsing device; transmit, from the server afterreceiving the selection of the plural media advertisement widget, anexpanded plural media advertisement widget interface including a carrierinterface element; receive, over the Internet at the server, a selectionof a carrier of the carrier interface element of the plural mediaadvertisement widget, by the user of the web browsing device; determine,upon the selection of the carrier, whether an Internet service providerof the web browsing device and the selected carrier are a common, singlecompany; upon determining that the selected carrier and the Internetservice provider of the web browsing device are a common, singlecompany, automatically receive user credentials for the selected carrierfrom the Internet service provider of the web browsing device; initiate,by the server based on the selection of the widget options of the pluralmedia advertisement widget, at least one of: (i) purchasing of theelectronic programming content from the electronic programming carrier,(ii) recording the electronic programming content to the digital videorecorder of the user associated with the electronic programming carrier,(iii) adding the electronic programming content to the list of the userassociated with the electronic programming carrier, and (iv) adding theelectronic programming content to a list of the user associated with amedia streaming service; and initiate a charge to the electronicprogramming carrier associated with the advertisement, based on theselection of the widget options of the plural media advertisementwidget, the charge corresponding to (i) pay-per-purchase, (ii)pay-per-record, or (iii) pay-per-queue.
 15. The computer-readable mediumof claim 14, wherein the electronic programming content is at least oneof a broadcast television program, an on-demand television program, ashow, a series, and a movie that can be streamed to a television of theuser.
 16. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein theselection of the plural media advertisement widget initiates anelectronic programming device of the user, separate from the webbrowsing device used by the user to view the web page.
 17. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 16, wherein the electronic programmingdevice is associated with the user's account with the electronicprogramming carrier.
 18. The computer-readable medium of claim 17,wherein the electronic programming carrier is at least one of asatellite television service, a cable television service, and a fiberoptic television service.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 14,wherein at least one of the plurality of widget options is a hyperlink.20. The computer-readable medium of claim 14, wherein at least one ofthe plurality of widget options is a button embedded in theadvertisement.